It was an exhilarating and fun-filled weekend of activities, in the Remita Corporate Champions Cup 2018 opening weekend which took place at the Yaba College of Technology Sports Complex, Yaba on Sunday, 12th of August 2018.
The event was graced by dignitaries and top executives including the CEO of SystemSpecs Nigeria – Mr John Obaro, Mr Deremi Atanda – ED, SystemSpecs, Mr Paul Ibidun – GM, Corporate Services, SystemSpecs, COO of MediaVision Ltd – Mr Jimmy Sogbesan, Mrs Achenyo Obaro – MD, MITIMETH, former Nigerian goalkeeper Peter Rufai who is also the Tournament Ambassador and a host of other top executives.
NOVELTY MATCH
The event kicked off with a novelty match played between the YabaTech Football Team – YCT All Stars and the Unilag Football Team – Unilag Marines. YCT All Stars came out tops as they beat the Unilag Marines by 1:0.
QUARTER FINAL ONE
The first match of the day was between FrieslandCampina Wamco and 9mobile. The match started in an emphatic fashion with 9mobile taking the lead in the 5th minute through a Kingsley Daniel free kick which was spilled into the net by Ogun Morakinyo who was in goal for FrieslandCampina. Shell-shocked, FrieslandCampina pushed for an equalizer but were let down by some poor finishing in the first half. The second half took a different twist as FrieslandCampina levelled the score-line through Okoronkwo Friday in the 31st minute. As the game headed towards the closing stages, Okoronkwo once again, poked home from close range to give his side the lead in the 53rd minute, sending FrieslandCampina into the semi-finals.
QUARTER FINAL TWO
The second match saw First Bank trade tackles with Unilever. The match while captivating, failed to deliver on goals as both opposing goalkeepers in Olaoluwa Samuel of First Bank and Rasheed Yusuf of Unilever did well to keep the attackers at bay. The match ended in a stalemate and went straight into penalties. Olaoluwa came out tops making two saves to deny the Unilever team a spot in the semi-finals as First Bank triumphed 4:2 on penalties.
QUARTER FINAL THREE
Match three featured season regulars Leadway Assurance who took on the wild card team of the competition – Credit Direct. Leadway came out all blazing as they looked for the opener, the pressure finally told as Dave Ajala in the 12th min beat his marker and placed a well taken shot beyond the keeper – Ajayi Olalere of Credit Direct. Leadway Assurance continued their onslaught as they seek for more goals and ended the first half three goals up. With 35 minutes to play, Credit Direct were forced to play the rest of the game a man down after Gbadedo Abiodun received a second yellow card for handling the ball. The match ended 5:0 in favour of Leadway Assurance with Dave Ajala getting a brace.
QUARTER FINAL FOUR
The last match of the round saw Defending Champions of The RC3 – IHS Towers play FCMB. Throughout the duration of the match, both teams continuously pressed for the opener with FCMB in particular missing some clear cut chances in the first half. The game finally came to life in 58th minute when Nsikak Ekanem of FCMB got his goal as he lobbed the ball which was almost out of play into the net. The match eventually ended 0:1 in favour of FCMB thereby knocking out the defending champions.
SPECTATORS ENGAGEMENT
One of the major highlight of the day was the captivating performance from celebrity Artist – Reminisce who thrilled the fans with his performance and songs. Fans/Spectators were not left out as they won lots of prizes and freebies while competing in various challenges like the Take –A- Shot, Tic Tac Toe, Basketball Challenge amongst others. 8 fans also went home with various gift items during the Raffle Draws. The DJ was on ground to play lovely tunes to excite and thrill the crowd.
The children’s corner was in place for the kids and filled with activities like the bouncing castle, etc. while enjoying ice-cream and popcorn amongst other freebies.
Action continues this Sunday, 19th August, 2018 at the Yaba Tech Sports Complex as semi-finalist – FrieslandCampina, Leadway Assurance, First Bank and FCMB battle for a place in the finals.
Find below this weekend’s schedule;
| Date | Event | Time | Venue |
|
Sunday 19th |
Football | Yabatech Sports Complex, Herbert Macaulay way, Yaba | |
| Medicals | 12:00am – 12:45pm | ||
| FrieslandCampina vs Leadway Assurance | 1.00pm – 2:20pm | ||
| First Bank vs FCMB | 2:30pm – 3:50pm | ||
Fela is the Co-founder of MediaVision Limited .
